Until My Dying Day
by Insomniac Jay
Summary: The smell of dirt, gunpowder, and blood filtered the room. What an unusual aroma when combined together. The crash of the cold waves accompanied by the sound of a silently sobbing honey blonde across from her were like fingernails to a chalkboard.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own these characters. Nor am I collecting profit from them.**

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><p>The smell of dirt, gunpowder, and blood filtered the room. What an unusual aroma when combined together. The crash of the cold waves accompanied by the sound of a silently sobbing honey blonde across from her were" like fingernails to a chalkboard. The feel of the broken wooden chair beneath her and the rope that paralyzed her felt like fire to her skin. The memory of how good things had been for them now erupted. She couldn't remember a single good memory in her life. All she knew was that her fiance was alive. For now.<p>

"Jane," The honey blonde whispered when the sound of steps startled her. She quickly silenced her tears even more than she had before. "He's coming back. Wake up, Jane."

The brunette heard the desperation in her lovers voice. Something she only heard when her lover needed her. After a moment of silence, the detective thrashed against the bounding ropes that compelled her to work harder. She yelled incomplete sentences to the menace.

"Silence!" Was the demand that was returned. Jane knew what would happen if she didn't follow the orders, but how could she? Maura needed to be safe. Maura needed to be out of here. Jane would take any punishment given to her as long as Maura was safe. The brunette could only see the silhouette of her worried and equally tied up partner. How could she have thought Maura betrayed her? How could she have thought that the woman across from her would cheat on her? Lie to her? Hurt her? In more ways than one did she fear of the honey blonde hurting her. Now she felt guilty for ever feeling such a thing. Given the opportunity to apologize, the brunette would take it.

"Shh, shh." She tried to soothe her honey blonde. "It's going to be okay." She had no way of knowing that for sure but she had to calm the smaller woman down. Her breaths had hiked and she could hear the panic attack taking over Maura. "We're going to be okay." She whispered blindly.

"No you won't." Came an automated voice from behind Jane. She tried to turn, to see if she could get a good look at her killer. He'd been disguising his voice. Surely, he knew she would figure a way out. He feared that, obviously if he'd still been protecting his identity.

"What do you want?" Jane demanded, trying to ignore her fiance. She needed to figure a way out of wherever they were. "I can't give you whatever you want while I'm tied up here."

"You can never give me what I want, Jane." There was a tug on Jane's hands. The rope that had been bounding her hands was in his hands. "I never wanted much from you, anyway. I just like seeing you hurt. Just as you made me hurt."

"What do you want?" The brunette tried again. "What_ did_ you want?" She altered.

"To see you hurt." The tone sounded familiar but Jane couldn't be sure. "In order for that to happen, I'll need to see_ her_ die." He'd been talking about Maura.

This elicited a cry from the honey blonde. Jane's eyes strained to see if Maura had been hurt in any type of way. "Are you okay?" She asked. The smaller woman's crying told her that her companion was still alive, for now.

"I don't want to leave you." Maura whispered, just loud enough for only them to hear. "I can't, Jane. I promised you so much and I wanted to give you all of those things. I wanted to give you the daughter you asked me for. I wanted to give you the happy ending you told me you didn't believe in. I can't let you be right, Jane. I can't leave you now."

Her partner's words were almost humorous. She wanted to hold on for Jane. She wanted to stay for Jane. Even at her last moments, the honey blonde wanted to prove Jane wrong. "Maura, you've already given me so much."

"Not enough, Jane." The smaller woman cried.

"I don't need a daughter, Maur. I don't need a nice house to raise her in." The taller woman felt the tears on her cheeks. "I don't need to retire to some small town that you picked out. I don't need any of it. I need _you_. You gave me happiness, Maur. When I thought no one could understand me, when I thought no one could love me. There you were, willing to give me all you had. Remember that? Remember when you told me that you had feelings for me? You were so straightforward about it. So confident. I'd been hiding my feelings for years, and as soon as you felt something more you just flat out told me about them. I'll never forget the way you made me feel that day, Maura." Jane could see her partner about to protest so she decided to continue, immediately. "Please, don't think you haven't given me much, Maur. You've given me more than I thought I could ever get. You gave me more than I even asked for. The first day you told me you loved me. The first time we made love. The time we told everyone about us. How sure you were when you said I was the one for you. That this wasn't a fling and that you'd transfer if it meant that we could still be together. When we first started looking at the adoption agencies, because we decided that there's already too many people crowding this Earth. But really I didn't want you to lose your perfect figure." Jane's laugh had been shaky, but it was enough to get a laugh from her partner. "You've already given me enough, Maura. I'm so sorry I couldn't save you. I'm so sorry." The brunette couldn't stop her sobs from coming now. She wanted to reach out and hold her partner. She needed to hold Maura one more time. She needed to kiss her one more time. Although she'd told Maura that she'd given her enough, that hadn't been entirely true. There was so much more that Jane wanted to do with the honey blonde. There was much that they needed to do together before they got married and adopted their little girl.

How could she tell Maura that without ruining her dying moments?

"I love you, Jane." Maura could sense the menace behind Jane. He'd been holding something up. "I love you so much."

"I love you!" Jane shouted back. "Please!" She begged. It wasn't enough. The sound that was ever so familiar to her interrupted her cries and begs. Then there was silence as her eyes tried to focus on Maura. The honey blonde had stopped moving.

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><p><strong>Before you read this review or criticize , I want to say that this is apart of a project I decided to be apart of. Why should you have to wait four months until the next Rizzoli and Isles? Every Friday, will come a new short story. No more than 20k or 30k words. A different case. It will all lead up to this point. The stories will feature our favorite girls falling in love, being together, yada yada yada. But, I need people to stand behind me on this. So, if you're interested, let me know. I definitely would love to connect with some of your fellow writers for your ideas. Even if you're not a writer, I'd still love some ideas. Whichever idea you contribute, you will earn full credit. Do you guys think I should do this? <strong>

**By the way, I haven't given up on Cold Wind. I've just decided to take a short hiatus until I find a new muse. And with the chemo, I don't have time. I sleep a lot. But, I promise I will dedicate myself to this project. Whenever I'm awake and not out of it, I will be writing. So let me know what you think!**


	2. Sneak Peek

**A/N: IMPORTANT!**

**Let's get things straight, okay? I never said that I would kill Maura. I just put her in the sitaution where she would die. But rationally speaking when someone has a gun to your head, their main motive is to pull the trigger. But, for you to not read my story because I'm a realistic writer makes you an idiotic reader. The entire point of reading something is to learn the ending not to already know it. I would not give you the end of the story just to have you read it from the beginning. That is pointless and you should have more faith in me as a human being. What I gave you is often known as the prologue. Meaning, I gave you an idea of what this story is about and just how bad things are capable of getting. It was my way of drawing your attention.**

**Okay that was to the pricks. **

**Now, I decided to post a story/episode every two weeks to give myself time to write, think, and rest. The first story will be posted Friday, March 23rd. And each story will be posted every two weeks after that. If you think about it, I am giving you all what you want. Because this will be like watching a show, only you're reading it. I will post the entire story at once (with multiple chapters) just so that there isn't any confusion on if a story will go on or end. You'll know when the stories are apart of my project and when they are not. As for _Cold Wind_ readers, I am not giving up on you. I am giving you your fix. For_ Experiences_ readers, I have not given up on that, either. I like to watch you squirm. Actually, I haven't posted the new chapter because of my chemo. I haven't even gotten far on the first story for my project. So, don't worry. I will be giving everyone what they want and soon I just need time to write. If you're interested in talking to me, you are fully allowed to follow me on twitter. my twitter is: juhkobe**

**With all of that said, I decide to give you a sneak peek of what's to come. Like I said, these will be like the show but with my twist to it. You know, more Rizzles than case. But there will still be cases because that's reasonable. Also, I am going to take things slow. Not too slow but slow enough so that it's realistic. My goal is to be realistic. Now, in these stories, let's assume that Burning Down The House never happened. At least not yet. But everything else did happen. Are you ready to give me your HONEST but appropriate feedback? Read, review, recycle! And don't forget to follow me!**

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><p>Detective Jane Rizzoli dribbled the basketball carefully as she searched a for a place to take a clear shot. She licked her lips, studying the movements of her defender. He was quick, almost as quick as her. He'd guarded her the entire game so far. It was almost as if they'd been playing a friendly game of cat and mouse. As if they'd been exotically dancing with one another. The brunette noticed there had been a spot open in the middle, her only obstacle was her defender in front of her.<p>

"C'mon, Rizzoli." He groaned, growing tired of waiting. "Just give it up."

"We're only down by two." The brunette smiled. "I just need a three." Without saying another word, the brunette swayed gracefully and quickly around the tall man. She leaned her back against him, showing him how quickly he'd missed her. He turned to go around her but by the time he'd been facing her again, she'd already taken the shot and scored.

"Damn it!" He yelled out, clearly upset with the tall brunette. "Next week, Rizzoli." He promised. Jane knew he wouldn't win next week, just as he didn't win this week.

"You wish." Vince Korsak laughed as he wiped his forehead with the hem of his shirt.

"Oh," Jane turned her head. "Korsak, hide that!" She pointed to his full hairy stomach. She'd been making a face of disgust. "It's like looking at a fat cat."

"Shut it, Jane." Vince let his shirt fall back down as he used the back of his hand to wipe his sweat away. "What are we eating for lunch?"

"Leave it to Korsak to want to eat after working out." Barry Frost joined in, handing his two partners bottles of water. He received a quiet thanks from Jane. "Where's the Doc?"

Jane shrugged, gulping down her water. When it was safe for her to talk, she finally responded. "Probably doing what smart people do," The brunette packed up her things, dropping them all recklessly into her dufflebag. "Listening to a podcast on ancient French studies of...things that Maura find fascinating." She quickly wrapped up, coming short of a witty response. She made a face at her own reply.

Barry chuckled. "Ancient French studies?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Jane pointed the tip of her water bottle to him. "You got something better?"

"No." Barry said, earnestly. The brunette laughed as she wrapped her dufflebag around her body. "Red Sox game tonight at the Robber. You in?" He asked as they all walked to Jane's cruiser.

"Yeah," Vince had been having difficulties managing the sweat he'd still been releasing. "You can invite the Doc."

"You know she will, anyway." Barry opened his car door. "When doesn't Jane invite Maura to anything?"

"I didn't invite her here." The brunette used the tilt of her head to point to the almost vacant basketball court.

"She doesn't know how to play." The dark man pointed out.

"But," Vince threw his bag in the backseat of the car. "She could have been Jane's cheerleader. She already is, basically."

"'Go Jane, Go!'" Barry imitated as he cheered just as Maura normally did. "She's always there rooting for you. Hurts our feelings, Jane." He and Vince had been laughing.

Jane mocked. "Ha. Ha. Ha." She got into the drivers seat. "You two almost had to find a new ride back to the precinct." The brunette said when both men were in the car now.

"Doc wouldn't approve of that." Vince pointed, next to Jane in the passenger seat. "You wouldn't want to disappoint the Doc, now would you, Janie?"

"Don't call me Janie, Korsak." Jane's said, sternly. "My name is Jane or Rizzoli. Not_ Janie._" She emphasized, mimicking her mother's voice.

"Oh," Barry sat up, getting closer to his partners. "Have you heard? Your Ma's trying to throw Frankie a surprise birthday party. She's having it at the Doc's house."

"Why didn't she tell me?" The brunette glanced at her partner through the rear view mirror. "I know Frankie better than anyone."

"Maybe she didn't want you to tell Frankie." Vince suggested with a shrug.

"Yeah," Jane didn't buy it. "And you two gossip girls are the better for the job." She threw out. Neither men said anything, only responding with small laughs. Jane rolled her eyes.

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><p>Dr. Maura Isles swayed her hips slightly as she hovered above a microscope in the forensics lab. She replaced the container with a new set of bacteria that had been found on the victim that had been on her autopsy table. She'd been listening to the music stylings of George Brassens. She'd been so wrapped in her music and studying the bacteria, she hadn't heard Frankie enter the lab.<p>

He reached out and touched the back of her arm. This elicited a yelp from the doctor, as she yanked her headphones out. "I'm sorry, Maura." Frankie apologized as the honey blonde tried relaxing her heartbeat. She had one hand rested on her chest, breathing in slowly. "I knocked." He told her, pointing to the door.

"It's okay, Frankie." She gave her best professional smile, although her relationship with Frankie Rizzoli had been more than professional. It'd been personal. All of her relationships with the Rizzoli's had been more than professional. "What do you have for me?" She asked, looking at the paper bag in his arms.

"Oh." Frankie looked at the bag. "I found something interesting. At the crime scene, I noticed that no one had searched under the porch. So, I had them take a piece of the wood off so I could climb under there."

"You really want to make detective." Maura commented with a smile. "Jane would be proud."

"Thanks." Frankie smiled. "Anyways, I noticed this shoe. It looks like a size twelve in men. None of the victims had that shoe size."

"I'll check it for fingerprints." Maura reached for the bag. "Anything else?" She asked when he'd still been standing there.

"Yeah," Frankie sighed. "I know Ma is throwing me a party. She listens to you. I was kind of hoping you could talk her out of it."

"Why?" Maura could never understand why Jane and Frankie had been the most resistant to Angela's affection. She'd craved birthday parties when she was younger. Whenever she returned home for her birthdays, she secretly wished that she had a surprise party awaiting her. Though, always disappointed, the honey blonde never voiced this secret to anyone. Not even Jane.

"I don't know," Frankie rubbed the back of his head. "Guess I just want to do things differently this year. I want to go out with a couple of the guys."

"The guys?" Jane interrupted, strolling into the lab with a pair of gloves on. "What guys? Korsak and Frost?"

"No!" Frankie defended. "I have other guy friends, Jane."

"Right." She smirked. "Hi." She turned to her friend, Maura. "I heard you needed me down here."

"Yes." Maura nodded. "We may have found a body that is connected to the missing persons case I've been assigned."

"Since when do they have you working missing persons?" Jane asked, dismissing her brother with a look. He sighed but left, hoping that Maura had remembered his request. She remembered. Not that she could actually get Angela do what she wanted, she would point out that maybe Frankie was old enough to celebrate his birthday any way he pleased.

"I'm just running the forensics, Jane." The honey blonde said, looking back into the microscope.

"Oh," The brunette took a seat on the barstool next to Maura, stealing it from the honey blonde. "So, what do you want me to do?"

"I just need your assistance with the autopsy." Maura shrugged, writing something down into her notepad. She returned to studying the bacteria, managing the focus of the microscope. "And I've barely seen you all day."

"I know!" Jane said, sarcastically. "Normally we see each other at work under such great circumstances."

"You know what I meant, Jane." The honey blonde ignored her friend's verbal abuse. "How was your pick out game at the park?"

"Pick out?" Jane questioned, examining the bloody shoe that had been left from Frankie. "It's called a pick up game, Maur. And it was fantastic. We won." She grinned.

"Of course," The honey blonde smiled at her friend. "I never doubt your skills. You're an excellent athlete."

"What's this?" The brunette purposely ignored her friend's compliment, hoping they didn't have to revisit the subject. She wasn't good taking compliments well and she would have hoped that by now her friend would realize that.

"Frankie found it under the porch at the crime scene." Maura said, going back to studying the bacteria. "You'll be very proud of him. He noticed that none of the crime scene guys didn't check under the wood porch. So, he had them cut an entrance in it. He crawled around under and discovered this shoe. It didn't fit the size of any of the victims."

"Way to go Frankie," The brunette said, proudly. "Have you checked it for anything, yet?"

"No." Maura pushed the microscope away, slightly. "I'll get right on that."

"Okay." Jane took a deep breath, waiting for something to do. "So, tell me more 'bout this case."

"Two young men – Gene Wilder and Terry Wallace – were kidnapped when they were supposed to be on their way to class." Maura said, examining the shoe herself. "When they never showed up, their friend became worried. The crime scene looks as if someone wanted it to be known that the two young men had been taken."

"Interesting," Jane mused. "How long have they been missing?"

"Twenty-four hours." The honey blonde said without missing a beat. "The young man that's on my table now was a friend of theirs."

"Oh." Jane thought for a moment. "Maybe he was apart of it? Maybe he and a few of their other friends kidnapped them and when he wanted to back out they killed him. It would be the only way to make sure he keeps his mouth shut."

"I don't like to make assumptions like that, Jane." Maura held the shoe up into the light to study it more carefully. She noticed her friend shifting in her seat, impatiently. "If you wish to believe that happened, then don't mind me. Just don't complain when your assumptions send you on a wild goose chase."  
>"It's a start." Jane pointed out. "So, who's leading the case?"<p>

"Detectives Tracey Ross and William Jackson." Maura ran a q-tip along the shoe, collecting some of the blood on it. There had been residue on the bottom of the shoe, she ran another q-tip along the bottom. Jane sighed, heavily. "Is there a problem, Jane?" She turned to her friend, with a smile.

"I _hate_ Detective William Jackson." She emphasized. "He's a snobby rich kid. You know his parents own multiple mansions? I don't know why he's in a place like this. He could be off living off the money he inherited from his grandparents and great grandparents."

"My family owns multiple homes, Jane." Maura told her, disapprovingly. "Is there a problem with that? I work here just as well as he does."

"You're different, Maur." Jane defended. "At least you are to me."

The honey blonde smiled. "Well thank you." She turned back to the shoe, giving it more attention. There had been a case to solve and she knew that she needed to focus on it.

"Do you want to come to the Robber tonight?" Jane asked. "I mean, we're just going to watch the Sox and drink a few beers but you're definitely welcome to join."

"I'd love to," The honey blonde pulled off her latex gloves. "But, I have a date."

"A date?" Jane mocked. "With who?"

"William Jackson." Maura mumbled.

"Excuse me?" Jane almost choked.

"Oh, Jane. Calm down." Maura said, calmly. "It's not really a date. We'll just be eating dinner as we go over the case files."

"In this job," The brunette stood. "That's classified as a date."

Maura shrugged. "Then I suppose it is a real date." She smiled, despite her friend's obvious distaste.

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><p>"Ma, can't you just not throw him a party?" Jane begged of her mother. They'd been discussing plans for the younger Rizzoli's birthday. "He's going to be thirty-five."<p>

"Hush you, Jane." The older woman said, glancing to Maura. "Can you help me out here?"

"Actually," The honey blonde felt guilty. "I agree with Jane. Frankie is going to be thirty-five. It's time to let him celebrate his birthday as he wishes."

"I see." Angela backed away. "The world against Angela Rizzoli. No one wants me to love them, anymore?"

"Ma," Jane groaned. "C'mon Ma. It's not that!"

"Fine!" Angela grabbed her purse. "Just remember, Jane Rizzol: I took care all of you. I _still_ take care of all of you." The brunette groaned as her mother left.

"Wow." Maura breathed. "That was..."

"That was just Ma being Ma." The brunette smiled. "Don't worry about it. She'll get over it, I'm sure." The detective gave the doctor a smile before dragging herself to the kitchen, tiredly.

"Your posture indicates that you're tired." Maura pointed out as she turned off the television off by the remote. She dropped it next to her, where her best friend would have been sitting. "Have you been getting sleep, Jane?"

"I sleep just fine." The brunette retorted, as nicely as possible. "Work has just been really hectic."

"I know about work," Maura bent down to pet her tortoise. "I work with you. Every case you're assigned to, I'm also assigned to."

"Okay. How come you're not with Detective Jackson? Didn't you two have a date?" The detective tried to change the subject.

"He canceled." Maura shrugged. "He said he got a lead in the case."

"Speaking of the case," The brunette used her hand to eclipse her face, hiding her yawn from the honey blonde. "You were assigned to it before me. Why?" She asked, hoping to change the subject, again.

"I'm the medical examiner. It wasn't declared apart of the case until the missing persons lieutenant agreed." The honey blonde slowly walked near her friend, afraid of startling the brunette. Jane had her back turned to Maura, still attempting to hide her yawns. "Jane?" The honey blonde carefully touched her friend's back. "Do you need anything?"

"No." Jane involuntarily rubbed her eyes. "I think I'm going to head home."

"Are you sure?" Maura was upset to hear so. She loved Jane's company. Every time Jane called it a night and decided to leave, the honey blonde could feel her loneliness creeping in. She'd never admit this to Jane. Jane was tough, much tougher than her. How could she admit something so...weak? What would Jane think of her? Would Jane withdraw from her? She'd never do that. She wouldn't leave me, just _because _I told her I needed her company more than she realized.

"Yes." The brunette smiled, weakly. She didn't want to leave but she knew she had to. If she hadn't, Maura would know she'd been lying about not getting much sleep. She wasn't ready to tell the brunette just why she hadn't been getting much sleep. It had everything to do with Charles Hoyt and Bobby Marino. She had nightmares of other killers, just as much as them, but those men stuck out. They got closer to killing her than anyone ever had before. She would never be able to think of them without getting an involuntary shiver up her spine. There was something she felt for them.

Fear? Yes, most definitely it was fear. But, there something more. Something those men did to her that no other man could. They made her feel weak. They made her forget all of the training she had in the academy. Sometimes, she believed they were successful in killing her. Sometimes, she felt as if they'd killed Detective Jane Rizzoli. Leaving just Jane Rizzoli. The difference between herself and the detective in her, was the fear. Was the scars and the memories. The training. The compartmentalization. A badge hid her from herself, sometimes. But, now the badge didn't matter. Now, there was nothing separating her from Rizzoli. There wasn't a Det. Jane Rizzoli anymore. She was just Jane Rizzoli. Scarred, bruised, battered, hurt, scared, tired, and most of all, weak Jane Rizzoli.

"Okay." Maura pressed her lips together. "Shall I call you a cab? You look so tired, I wouldn't feel right having you drive home."

"I'll be okay, Maur." The brunette grabbed her car keys that rested on the island. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

"Okay, Jane." Maura didn't feel okay about this. Not at all. "Call me when you get home, okay?"

"I will." The brunette agreed, adjusting her holster. "Get some sleep, alright? We got a big day of gumshoe detective work and useless facts from you."

"I don't only tell you use_ful _facts, Jane." The doctor seemed a bit offended. She wouldn't let Jane know just how offended she'd been. "I perform autopsies, I do a lot in the lab."

"Alright, alright." Jane breathed, knowing she'd offended the doctor. "I mean, we have a long day of my gumshoe thing and your amazing work."

Maura smiled. "Much better."

"Okay." The brunette was at the door now. "I'll call you." The honey blonde only nodded, hoping that somehow her thoughts could condemn the brunette to stay. It was much safer, wasn't it? Both of them, together. Nothing was more safe than when Maura was with Jane. Jane would never feel safe again unless she was with Maura. Both women were completely aware of their situations but they would never voice them to each other. When the brunette was gone, Maura decided she would clean her kitchen. The messes Jane always left gave her something to do as she awaited a phone call from the brunette. She was sure that Jane did that on purpose. Gave her something to do instead of just waiting for her all night.

"Bass," The honey blonde looked at her tortoise. "Sometimes, I feel so alone. I know that you're here, but I can't possibly confide in you always. You don't speak to me in English."

"Are you talking to your turtle?" Tommy Rizzoli asked as he opened the back door. "Jane and Ma said you do that, I never thought they were tellin' the truth."

"It's perfectly sane to communicate with other animals, Tommy." Maura informed. "I'm sure Bass understands me. At least he understands my body language. He knows that when I pet him, I am attempting to show him affection. When I talk to him, I am attempting to maintain a bond between us."

"Okay..." Tommy lingered near the door, unsure if he wanted to ask her what he'd been planning on doing for days. "So, where's Janie?"

"She just left." Maura admitted, sadly. "Was there something you needed from her?"

Tommy knew Jane had left. He'd waited patiently in the guest house for her to leave. He wouldn't step foot in this house until she was gone. He knew that Maura listened to her, so if he asked Maura when Jane was around, he would be in trouble. Jane could convince the doctor to do about anything. That includes, kick Tommy out and make sure the two never spoke again.

"No." Tommy finally said. "I was wondering..." He dried his palms on his jeans by rubbing them on his legs. "There's this concert. Not like a Springsteen concert or anything. There's this guy doing the Carmen album."

"Carmen by George Bizet." Maura smiled. "I would love to join you to the show, Tommy. Shall we get your mother to come along? I'm sure she would love to experience new music."

"No!" Tommy all but yelled. "I mean, I think Ma will be busy planning Frankie's birthday party."

"We told her not to." Maura informed, obliviously. "Well, I convinced her not to. Jane simply just told her not to."

"Shoot." Tommy took a seat at the empty dining room table. "Okay, well maybe it could be just us? We never do much together other than play Chess on our iPhones."

"I do work a lot." The honey blonde agreed, taking a seat next to Tommy. "I suppose that would be amazing. Just the two of us."

"Yeah," Tommy smiled. "Just the two of us."

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><p>Maura walked erratically to the bullpen that Jane and her partners were often waiting for results. The honey blonde noticed that the brunette had been leaning over Barry as he explained something to her. Vince rambled quietly about the evils of computers and their power over humans. Maura simply ignored his ignorant testimony.<p>

"Jane," She breathed as she handed a file to the brunette. "These are the lab results for the shoe that Frankie found. I found high amounts of Clostridium phytofermentans. It's a soil bacterium isolated from Harvard Forest."

"At Harvard?" Jane questioned, opening the file to read the results for herself. Somehow, reading the results and hearing them from Maura helped her understand things better. Also, because sometimes she would need to read how to spell some of the things Maura pronounces.

Maura nodded before continuing. "All three of our victims attended Harvard. Remarkable characteristics of this bacterium include the ability to degrade essentially all plan polysaccharides and produce copious amount of ethanol. The Hazen lab demonstrated that some mutants of the energy crop sorghum were converted to ethanol quickly than normal varieties."

"English, Maura." Jane said, impatiently. "What does this mean?"

"It means that the show was in Harvard Forest." Maura, said simply.

"So..." Jane walked around the desks. "That means the owner of the shoe probably is into biology."

"Ecology." The honey blonde corrected, mindlessly.

"They were just taking a stroll through the forest, casually? Then came to kidnap someone?" Barry asked.

"We don't know for sure that they're the kidnappers." Maura told him. "This shoe only tells us where it was before it was at the Fraternity house."

"Where's the other shoe?" Vince asked.

"Okay. What did our victims study at Harvard?" Jane asked Barry. He typed vigorously before giving her an answer.

"Ecology." He sighed.

"The shoe doesn't match any of their foot sizes. This means that the owner of the shoe is also apart of Ecology studies. He has to be. He wouldn't just have some substance only found in Harvard Forest all over his shoes." Jane paced around the desks. "The question is why was the shoe under the porch? Wasn't there blood on it?"

"Yes." Maura nodded. "About that. The blood belongs Shawn Jabar."

"On it." Barry told Jane as he typed, before she could ask him to look the guy up. "Okay, this is odd. I found his Facebook, but his wall his full of Rest In Peace posts. In this newspaper article, it says he died of...alcohol poisoning."

"He drank himself to death?" Vince was at Barry's side now, reading the article for himself. "Huh." He huffed. "He was found dead after a party two weeks ago."

"See if any of our victims were at that party." Jane told Barry as she flipped through the pages of lab results. "So, you didn't find a print on the shoe?"

"Oh, I did." Maura sighed. "It just wasn't enough for me to match it to anyone." Jane let out a heavy sigh before closing the file and placing it on her desk. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking it's pretty odd that a nineteen year old student from Harvard was found dead at a party." Jane mused as she focused her eyes on Maura's chest, without knowledge. Her eyes just needed a place to rest as she processed everything. "Was the party at Harvard or anywhere around it?"

"No." Vince answered as Barry worked on something. "It was here in Boston."

"Dr. Pike performed his autopsy." Maura startled Jane. "I couldn't understand why Shawn's name seemed so familiar. I'd signed off on the supervision of Dr. Pike. Mr. Pike expressed that something seemed very odd about Mr. Jabar's death. There were high levels of diacetylmorphine. He just assumed the young man had been taking that as he'd been drinking."

"What is that exactly?" Barry asked.

"Heroin." Jane answered without her eyes breaking away from Maura's chest. The honey blonde hadn't noticed the pair of eyes boring into her skin.

"Straight A student doing drugs?" Vince questioned. "Shawn got all A's in all of his classes. He was doing really well in Harvard."

"He even made the Dean's List last year." Barry added. "I found something, Jane. Shawn Jabar shared a class with two of our victims. Biology with Terry and Ecology with Gene."

"Then where does Matt Jenkins fit into any of this?" Jane asked. "Did you find anything funky about his body?"

"Funky?" Maura questioned. "No...there weren't anything involving disco."

Jane rolled her eyes, ignoring the laughs from her partners. " I meant was there anything off? Weird? Out of place?"

"Nope." Maura shook her head. "Other than the fact that he's dead. I'm awaiting his blood results."

"So, we know that all of these guys knew each other." Vince took a seat at Jane's desk. "We know that two of the four are dead."

"We need to interview their families again." Jane said, grabbing her blazer.

"May I join you?" Maura asked before Jane could get too far away. "I can check their things for traces of the bacterium."

"Uh," Jane stared blankly. "Sure." The brunette turned around. Maura smiled, proudly. She just wanted to work with Jane. The honey blonde grabbed the file from Jane's desk and followed the detectives out of the precinct.

* * *

><p>"I'm so sorry to have to ask you these questions, ma'am." Jane said, sympathetically to Matt Jenkins' mother. "Do you know if Matt was a drinker?"<p>

"No." The older woman said through soft tears. "He was so invested in school. I know all parents say that they're kids were great kids but Matt really was a great kid. He never did drugs, he never partied too much. I mean, he partied. But, he would only do it when he was done with all of his homework. He was really invested in school, detectives."

"Do you know if Matt knew a Shawn Jabar?" Barry asked, as politely as possible.

"Yeah, he and Shawn have been friends since they started college together." Martha Jenkins wiped her tears from her face with her sleeve. "They always came home together."

"What about Terry Wallace and Gene Wilder?" Jane asked, although her thoughts had been with Maura. The doctor had been up in Matt's old room checking his things. Martha had said that Matt visited every weekend. "Did he know those two boys?"

"Yes." Martha nodded. "But, I've never met them. They weren't as close to him as Shawn was."

Jane nodded in understanding with sobs claimed the older woman again. "I'm so sorry." She wrapped her arms around the grieving mother. "We're going to find the monster or monsters responsible for this. I promise." This increased the volume of the mother's sobs. Barry felt awkward enough so he decided to go upstairs and help Maura while Jane comforted Martha.

"Hello, Barry." Maura greeted as she rubbed a q-tip against Matt's pillow. "Did you find anything new?"

"Shawn and Matt were best friends." Barry sighed. "Not sure where this leads us. Have you found anything on his stuff?"

"Yes," The honey blonde bagged the samples. "I would say he visited his mother often."

"Wonder why." Barry was processing the bedroom. "This room looks like it's been used a lot. It looks like it's never changed, you know? Sometimes, when people go off to college, they take some things with them. It doesn't look like he took _anything _with him. Not even anything to remind him of his old room."

"He did visit a lot, detective." Martha said as she entered the room. "Every weekend. And if any classes had been canceled, he'd take an early weekend and come home. He would always bring Shawn with him."

"Did you find anything?" Jane asked, adjusting her blazer. Maura only nodded. "Okay, then. Mrs. Jenkins, we will be in touch." She reached out to touch the older woman's arm. Martha only nodded as silent tears fell from her cheeks.

* * *

><p>Jane had been going through the case file on her couch with a beer in her right hand as Joe Friday ran around the apartment looking for something to do. This was an average weekday night for Jane. Working on a case so difficult such as this one. Sometimes,she wished her life was a TV drama. Her cases could be solved within an hour. Jane scoffed at the idea as she flipped the page in the file. A soft knock from her door stole her attention from the small words she'd been reading. The brunette took a sip of her beer before placing it on the table.<p>

"Who is it?" She asked as she took her gun from her holster.

"Maura," The honey blonde said, impatiently. The heavy package that she'd been carrying was growing heavier by the moment. "Just open the door, Jane."

"Alright, alright." Jane sighed, as she unlocked the door. She waited for three seconds to see if the doctor would grab the doorknob. When nothing happened she simply did so herself and opened the door. She noticed Maura's outfit had been different and she'd been carrying a big brown box.

"What took you so long?" The honey blonde asked, giving the box to Jane.

"I don't know..." Jane was surprised at how heavy the box was. She wondered how Maura managed to hold it for so long. "I'm normally not sitting right next to my door."

"Funny." Maura mocked. "I want to keep this here. It's for Frankie. Since you barely let anyone into your apartment other than your mother and I, I assume and hope it'll be safer here than my house."

"Everyone does seem to love to go to your place now, don't they?" Jane mused as she put the box in the closet next to her door. "What did you get him?"

"It's a surprise." Maura took Jane's spot on the couch.

"I'm not Frankie. You can tell me." The brunette wondered how long Maura would be there. She wasn't sure if she should offer some wine or not. "I haven't gotten any closer than I was before." She told the honey blonde, after noticing the doctor reading the notes she'd written down.

"But you do make some very intelligent observations." The doctor pointed out over her shoulder, casually. "Some that I'm sure Frost and Korsak would miss."

"Yeah." Jane ran her fingers through her hair. "Do you want anything?" She asked, feeling awkward in the kitchen with nothing to do.

"No, thank you." Maura licked her lips. She could see Jane through the television set in the living room. The taller woman looked so helpless but attractive as she tried her best to maintain the manners her mother had taught her. Although Maura was used to taking abuse from Jane, she was touched that the brunette still tried to be polite.

"Why are you all dressed...down? I've never seen you wear something so...casual." The brunette noted as she took the seat next to the smaller woman. "Normally you look like you're about to or just came from doing a photoshoot. You're wearing jeans, Maur."

"I find that I look good in jeans, but sometimes they just aren't comfortable." Maura shrugged as she relaxed against the back of the couch. She crossed her legs, revealing her perfectly pedicured feet. She'd taken her heels off. Jane hadn't noticed how sexy the doctor was before. Hell, who was she kidding? She always noticed how sexy Maura was. Did she ever do anything about those feelings? Hell no. And she knew she never would. She wasn't confused about her feelings. Only because Maura explained to her why it was perfectly normal to have those thoughts. Maura never knew it, but she basically gave permission to think of her in such a way.

Not that Maura cared, anyway. When she'd noticed Jane staring at her breasts earlier, she found it to be enticing. She felt honored the brunette's dark eyes were fixed on her. Although Jane probably had no idea where she'd been staring, Maura felt at ease.

The doctor took in what Jane had been wearing. Loose short gym shorts and a tight v-neck shirt. Somehow the simple worked wonders on Jane. She involuntarily licked her lips again when Jane took a swig of her beer. "Is this how you plan on spending the rest of your evening? Alone? With no one to _help_ you?" The honey blonde asked, her voice was laced with arousal. Jane looked at her dubiously, trying to measure the doctor.

"I'm sorry?" She scratched the back of her neck, uncomfortably. "I guess...I didn't expect to have company. I'm not seeing anyone, anyway."

"Oh, no." Maura smiled. "That's not what I meant. I meant that you work too much. I can tell you're invested in this case, but truly your only part in it is the homicide part. Detective Jackson is all over the case. Just as you are. Shouldn't you be relaxing?"

"Detective Jackson." Jane spat out before taking another nip of her beer. "Don't ever mention that man to me again unless necessary."

"Noted." Maura promised. "Would you like some help? I am _very_ observant, detective." She nodded towards the files on the coffee table. She noticed Jane shift uncomfortably. She was having more fun than needed with this. Jane's reactions told her all she needed to know. The brunette was just as into her. Although she would act upon her feelings, she couldn't stop now. It was almost a drug to flirt with Jane Rizzoli.

"Nah," Jane swallowed hard. "I got it. Actually, I need someone to take Joe for a walk."

"A walk?" The honey blonde looked at her best friend. "You want me to take Joe Friday for a walk?" Jane only nodded, stiffly. "Okay." Maura breathed. "I'll see you in twenty?" Another stiff nod from her best friend and the honey blonde was off to find Joe Friday's leash.

"What the hell was that?" Jane whispered, disbelievingly. _Was she flirting with me?_ She asked herself. Of course, the two women always casually flirted but this seemed like it meant more. This seemed like Maura would actually made due on the promises to Jane. Like she actually meant them. This made Jane's mouth dry, and she needed more beer. Discovering her bottle was empty now, the brunette rushed to her kitchen to retrieve a new one. She noticed Maura bending over in the hallway.

"Oh God." She groaned, quietly, leaning over the counter. All she could imagine was that distinct memory. Maura's ass proudly in the air.

"I'll see you soon, Jane." Maura said over her shoulder as she and Joe Friday made their way to the front door. Jane only gave the doctor a nod. Not even a look. The doctor chuckled to herself before leaving the apartment with Joe.

"Ugh." Jane half groaned half sighed. "Okay, there's a reasonable explanation for her behavior. There has to be...I mean it's _Maura_." Jane ran nervous fingers through her hair as she walked back to the living room. She planted herself in the seat she'd been in before Maura even arrived at her apartment. She went through the case files as she noted things down. She hoped to get a great amount done before Maura returned.

The movement of her doorknob got her attention. It'd been thirty minutes and Maura was returning. She heard Joe's feet padding the floor before seeing Maura. The honey blonde had the leash in her hands. Her small black leather jacket over her blue blouse had been slightly wet.

"Did it start to rain?" Jane asked, turning her head back to the work in front of her.

"Mhm." Maura nodded, making her way to Jane. "And you're still working."

"Well sure." Jane nodded. "Someone has to do this work. As much as I'd love to hire a bunch of nerds to do it for me like it's high school, someone has to."

"I was offered multiple times do my peers' homework." Maura stated. "I often declined them. I felt as if it were cheating. And because I enjoyed nothing more than to watch them all fail. I thought of it as payback for treating me so differently."

Her tone alarmed Jane. The brunette turned to her best friend. "Look at you now. A successful medical examiner. More money than most people can count or will even make in a lifetime."

"That's not very successful, Jane." Maura looked at her friend. "I think successful is when you've done something meaningful with your life. Not made a lot of money. Plus, I didn't make all of my money. It was given to me."

"Is that why you're a medical examiner?" The brunette asked. "You think you're doing something meaningful?"

"I'm helping you. Catch the bad guys." The honey blonde smiled. "I'm certain that counts for something, right?" Jane only nodded. "Are you sure you don't want any help on this?"

"Yeah." The taller woman exhaled. "I need to focus on this anyway."

"What are trying to distract yourself from?"

"I don't know." Jane pulled the file she'd been working on into her lap. "I guess I just feel bad for Martha Jenkins. She's no older than us. Maybe by five years but still, it's kind of sad. She raised like the perfect kid. I want to know who took him from his mother. I want to know who killed him. His grades don't even suggest he would do drugs. I've read articles and articles on how much _good_ he did in this world." She nodded to her laptop. "Who would want a kid like this dead?"

"I don't know, Jane." Maura hadn't understood the rhetorical question. "But, I know that you will figure it out. Just like you always do."

"Thanks." Jane smiled, grabbing her beer. Her eyes hadn't left the file, although she hadn't even been reading it. She just couldn't help but notice the cleavage coming from Maura's blouse. She licked the tip of the bottle before taking a draft of her beer.

Maura hadn't noticed the appearance of Jane's tongue. Her own tongue involuntarily wanted contact with it. She licked her lips before speaking. "I was wondering if you were interested in going to Harvard Forest tomorrow? We could ask questions."

"That works." Jane nodded. She'd had the same idea, but she had thought about bringing Vince. "What time?"

"Noon?" Maura swallowed hard. Her arousal was at its peak, and she couldn't do anything about it. Any movement of her thighs would apply pressure to her clitoris. She would have soaked panties before she even left Jane's apartment.

"Perfect." The brunette hadn't looked up from the words on the paper in her lap. She hoped that Maura would catch the hint that it was time to leave but Maura's thoughts had obliviously been in a reverie. The two women sat there, one staring off into space and the other praying for the focus to finish her notes for the night.

"I suppose I should get going." Maura sighed. "I have the concert tomorrow with Tommy."

Jane's head whipped up. "Excuse me?" She looked up at Maura, who'd been standing now. "You're going to a concert...with Tommy?" She couldn't figure out how Tommy had talked Maura Isles into such a thing.

"He's taking me to see a man cover George Bizet's Carmen." The honey blonde informed, inattentive to Jane's tone.

"He's taking you to...some opera?" The brunette was at her feet now, as well. "Why did you agree to go, Maur?"

"I love George Bizet. I love Carmen." She pulled out her cellphone. "Most played album in my iTunes." She admitted, proudly.

"Yeah, yeah, that's nice!" Jane's fingers were swapping Maura's phone out of her face. "Why did you say yes? It's a date! It has a be a date! You said you wouldn't date him!"

"I'm not _dating_ him, Jane." The honey blonde said, offensively. "I have no romantic feelings for, Tommy. He has an intelligent mind and I'm only interested in that. Just as you have an intelligent mind. You Rizzoli's are very interesting."

"So you want to screw us all?" The brunette was obviously angry, but Maura refused to let her tone get to her.

"I do not wish to screw you," Maura sighed. "Not _all_ of you, anyway."

Misunderstanding, Jane's nostrils flared in dander. "Okay." She said, trying to calm herself. "Okay!" She walked around the couch to the door. "That's great! Go screw my brother, Maur."

"It's not like that." The doctor tried to explain, calmly. "I'm not interested in Tommy that way. Although he and I would be excellent at mating."

"Maura!" Jane all but screamed.

"I don't want to be with him, Jane!" Maura's words were rushed. "I don't care for him that way. He's like a brother to me. Just as Frankie is like a brother to me. Just as Angela is like a mother to me." This calmed the brunette down.

"Am I like a sister to you?" Jane asked, wonderingly. She knew she didn't really want to know the answer but she asked the question anyway.

Maura shook her head. "You are much more than a sister to me."

The brunette stared at her best friend for a moment. Forming the same question in different ways in her head but not finding herself to voice it. She decided upon a different question. "Why did you say yes to him?"

"It seemed important to him." Maura shrugged. "I love to make you all happy. And I love Carmen, as I stated earlier."

"So, this isn't a date?"

"No." The honey blonde shook her head, slowly. "Not a romantic one, anyway."

"Okay." Jane felt silly about her reaction now. "I'm sorry." She admitted, quietly.

"I forgive you." Maura kissed the brunette's cheek, softly. "I understand. You don't want me to date your brothers. It would come between us." In more ways than one. Jane could still feel Maura's lips on her cheek. Her fingers brushed the skin to try to remove the sensation. It hadn't helped.

"Goodnight, Maur." The brunette choked out as she opened her apartment door. Maura smiled but left without another word or regret about the kiss.

* * *

><p><strong>Review, recycle, and stalk! juhkobe<strong>


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